Beaumont unions, management to meet

Nursing unions and management at Beaumont Hospital will meet this afternoon to discuss recent beds closures that contributed …

Nursing unions and management at Beaumont Hospital will meet this afternoon to discuss recent beds closures that contributed to severe overcrowding last weekend.

It is expected that nurses' representatives will demand the immediate reopening of 45 beds closed as part of an attempt by the north Dublin hospital to remain within its budget this year.

A spokesman for the hospital said the issue of bed closures would be reviewed.

Over the weekend patients were waiting on ambulance trolleys for up to three hours before they could even gain entry to the hospital's Accident and Emergency (A&E) department. At one stage, more than 40 A&E patients were waiting for beds.

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According to the hospital spokesperson, the situation has eased this morning, and the A&E unit is reporting normal activity.

Eighteen beds of the closed 45 beds were temporarily reopened over the weekend to ease the overcrowding as part of the hospital's contingency plan.

The Irish Nurses' Organisation is to ask management at Beaumont to reopen the closed beds and agree to implement the contingency plan much more quickly in future.